Lived Experience Forum

[Former-Member]

I have suffered chronic pain myself from my chest wound neuropathy from my 2 open heart surgeries.  They were very painful and the pain didn't go away for years.  I found mindfulness therapy to be more helpful than the narcotics at treating the pain.  That and acupuncture.  I recommend checking them out.

[Faith-and-Hope]

Good morning @Wanderer .....

I hear what you are saying, but I don’t believe @SunShower left over this post (above) ..... 

We are all here for complex reasons, and people leaving can be for complex reasons too.  Often it can be that they are not feeling responded to enough, and the ebb and flow of the forums, centred around mental health issues, can be rapidly changing, turbulent, and confusing.

It also causes great heartache when there is upset and fall-out, and we can’t be sure whether this affects a decision to leave .... or the level of support and camaraderie that exists around some people and some threads for a multitude of different reasons.

I am often shy of tagging long lists of people in case I miss someone who is feeling vulnerable, who then feels overlooked as well, but the lack of tagging can be problematic for the same reason ..... people often want to be tagged, and feel as though they are going unnoticed if they are not.

I encountered a major dip in our rollercoaster last week, and when that happens I reduce the number of threads I contribute to as a means of coping, but stay connected on a few.  If that occurs simultaneously with a number of people, that can leave others feeling a little abandoned, and they may take it as personal when it is not intended that way.

It can also be overwhelming when a high number of forumites are in serious distress.  While the forums are not able to provide crisis counselling, members in crisis do post here, often seeking that intitial support where others help them to reach towards crisis care services, but even then, there are some situations around crisis care services that wash back onto the forums too, with elevated distress for everyone involved.

Nobody, and no institution or service is perfect.  We are all trying the best we can with what we have and what we find available, and I do know that once someone like @SunShower touches my life here, they remain with me in my thoughts and care ..... and I hope she misses us too, enough to return, if whatever the reasons which lie behind her decision are resolveable.

I hope this helps.

🌷F&H

[Faith-and-Hope]

Hi @Former-Member ..... 👋

[Wanderer]

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[Faith-and-Hope]

I think we all have a degree of crisis going on @Wanderer ....and just having others hear us speak about what is happening, and respond, means so much .....

I am talking about a much higher level of crisis when I am saying that it needs redirection into crisis counselling services in the moment, and when there are some for whom that just hasn’t been effective, we are left feeling helpless in the face of it, and sometimes somewhat traumatised ourselves by their distress ..... but unfortunately that is part of what is the bigger picture in mental health systems in Australia, and it’s is a sensitive issue that we can’t discuss fully here.  Aspects of it do come up through Tuesday Topics and other informations services that you can find through Sane homepage.

I do know that I am just so thankful to have found the forums and the wonderful people I have met here, and to hear that I have helped you is definitely a warm fuzzy .....

I can relate to what you are going through for different reasons.  I have had to sort-of leave my home and circle of family and friends to support our kids within our circumstances .... and it hurt so badly I suffered physical symptoms (psychosomatic response) earlier this year ..... a warning shot across my bow to take steps to manage the emotional pain better than I was.

Please do keep sharing at whatever level you feel comfortable to within the bounds of anonymity .... it can be just as important for others to hear, as it is for yourself to express it. 

[Wanderer]

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[Shaz51]

Hello @Wanderer

how are you going my friend

[Wanderer]

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[Faith-and-Hope]

Hi @Wanderer ....

Saw you here on Thursday.  Things have been full-on for me for a few days, so it’s taken a while to get back to you.

Do you want to talk about what is happening ?  

Last I knew you had a buyer for one property and an interested someone looking at the main one .... and equipment sold too.  That must be hard by itself .... 

Here for you ....

[Wanderer]

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